Only You
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: Short story in which Eric goes home for Jason's engagement party only to discover Sookie isn't the same girl he remembers. Fluffy cuteness and gratuitous lemons. AH. 4 chapters total.
1. Chapter 1

**I got bitch slapped by muses to write something cute and porny. This is what came out. It was supposed to be a one shot but it just kept coming so it's a short story instead. It's complete and I'll be posting it over the course of the weekend. So enjoy the minimal angst and gratuitous lemons while they last :)**

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><p><span>Only You<span>

The incessant ringing of my cell phone forced me out of sleep. Pam was calling over and over again. That wasn't like Pam. My head was spinning and I tried to figure out what time it was. Hell, I didn't even know _where_ I was. I definitely wasn't in my hotel room where I belonged. I sat up in bed and looked to my right. I wasn't alone.

Long blonde hair and smooth, tan skin was all I could really see. The woman was naked and had a great ass. She shifted slightly when another round of 'Walk' by Pantera began to play again. Obviously Pam was calling because I was missing from my hotel room where I was supposed to be. I rubbed my eyes and was about to get up to get my phone from my pants when my naked companion rolled onto her back, revealing a belly button ring, a tattoo on her hip and a pair of breasts I wanted to dive into face first.

"No fucking way," I muttered when I took in the sleeping woman's face.

How the fuck did I end up in bed with Sookie Stackhouse?

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><p><em>12 Hours Before…<em>

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in!" Jason said when I walked into the bar.

"I told you I'd be here," I accepted the bear hug he offered me. "I always keep my promises. Besides, it's not every day the man voted most likely to die a bachelor gets engaged."

Technically, Jason had been engaged for six weeks already. He'd simply held off on having the engagement party until I could be in town for it. I'd known Jason Stackhouse since high school. He was the last guy I expected to get married. At least not without a loaded shotgun aimed at his pretty boy head. Jason was a notorious flirt and had slept with more than his share of women. As teenagers we'd vowed _never_ to get married and just enjoy the fruits of living the single life.

I outgrew that notion long ago. Going from girl to girl got old quickly for me. It didn't help that I had chosen to become an actor, and with success came fame and a lot of untrustworthy people. It was because of my shooting schedule that Jason had originally assumed I wouldn't be able to make the party, but when I told him I wouldn't miss it for the world he promised to hold things up a little so I could be here.

Jason might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's a stand up guy. There's a reason we've been friends for so long. There was also no way I was going to miss out on meeting the woman who had gotten Jason to settle down and propose to her. She had to be an extraordinary woman in order for that to happen.

"So where's your better half?" I asked Jason when he let me go.

"Over at the bar with Sook," he pointed across the room to the bar.

Spotting Sookie was easy. Not just because of my height but because of the light that surrounded her. She was almost always smiling, perpetually tan and radiated a kindness I'd never found in another person. Sookie was the girl next door type. Her blond hair had easily grown out at least six inches since the last time I saw her. She was wearing a tight halter top and a pair of cropped pinstripe pants that hugged low on her hips. A belly button ring hung from her bare navel and I could see something on her hip that I guessed was a tattoo.

I hadn't seen Sookie in about two years and it was obvious she'd changed since I last saw her. I met her when she was eight-years-old, a shy but sweet girl who adored her big brother. I was fourteen back then. Over the years she had become somewhat like the surrogate little sister I never had. She was a good friend and a person I made a point to see whenever I made it back to our hometown.

On my last trip back Sookie was still away at college so I didn't get to see her. I'd tried to find time while I was in Texas, shooting a small part but there just wasn't a time we could meet. So two years had passed without a visit. We'd emailed, called, sent texts and the like but it wasn't the same as being in a room together. As my eyes traveled over her I was left with one loud resounding question repeating itself over and over in my mind.

_When did Sookie Stackhouse get so fucking hot?_

"Go over and say hello. I know Sook's anxious to see you," Jason clapped me on my shoulder.

"Aren't you coming with me?" I asked, suddenly nervous to go over and talk to Sookie. In an instant she had gone from old friend to hot girl in a bar.

"Gotta take a leak, but I'll be there in a minute," Jason promised and headed for the bathroom.

I made my way across the bar, thankful that I was old news in Bon Temps. The best part about coming home was that I could just be Eric again. It didn't matter that I was famous or had celebrity friends. Just ask the sheriff. To him I was still the punk who soaped windows and got caught making out with his granddaughter in the town library when we were fifteen.

Sookie was facing a pretty redhead whose eyes widened when she spotted me. I gestured for her to stay quiet and then snuck up on Sookie by hugging her around her waist and lifting her off the bar stool she was sitting on. She squealed in surprise and craned her head back as far as she could.

"You jerk!" she laughed and squirmed to try and turn herself around.

"Nice to see you too," I kissed her right on the mouth and she slapped at my hands in response.

"You cut that out! And put me down so I can give you a proper hug," she ordered and I set her down on her feet. Sookie spun around and threw her arms around my neck. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't have missed this," I squeezed her tightly and lifted her off the floor again.

I should say that Sookie has always been a pretty girl. It's not like she went from ugly duckling to beautiful swan in the last two years. It's just that I never bothered to pay much attention to it in the past. She was always Jason's little sister. But now, at the age of twenty-four she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a full fledged adult and sexy as hell.

"Put me down before you hurt yourself," she kissed my cheek.

"Are you kidding me? You're nowhere near heavy enough for that," I poked her side and she wiggled against me. "Oh, do that again."

"Shut up!" she slapped my arm and I set her down. "God, at least you're still as big of a pervert as you always were."

"Am not. I've been a very good boy for the last six months," I told her and it was absolutely true.

I went through a brief period where it appeared as if I was whoring around but it was easy to assume I was sleeping with every woman I left a bar with. I'd broken up with my most recent girlfriend seven months ago after being together for about a year and a half. I'd known that Dawn and I weren't going to last forever. Our relationship worked because she wasn't the needy type.

She knew when she met me that my job meant a lot of long hours and a lot of traveling. The relationship was low maintenance and we mostly just had fun together. We could laugh about the ridiculousness of red carpet events and she wasn't interested in riding my coattails into her own fame. In fact, Dawn preferred to be out of the spotlight. The problem ended up being the media attention.

She'd braved it for as long as she could but it just wasn't the life she wanted. Ultimately she wanted to get married and have kids. I wasn't ready and even if I was, I wasn't ready to give up my career and I was going to have to do that if I wanted my kids to be raised out of the spotlight the way she did. Things were just getting started. I would be a fool to walk away so quickly, and especially for a woman I knew wasn't the one I was supposed to settle down with.

The breakup was mutual but it still hurt. We were able to stay friends afterward since we hadn't waited to put an end to things before we could get to the resentful stage. She knew I'd seen other people since her and she had moved on to a new boyfriend. I was happy for her and she was happy for me. All in all, it was a good situation. Sookie was also aware of all of this; since she was the girl I went to when I needed female perspective on something. I trusted her implicitly.

"I know you have," Sookie wrapped an arm around my waist and snuggled against me.

The pretty redhead cleared her throat and extended her hand. "I'm Jessica, Jason's fiancée," she told me.

"Ohmygosh! I'm so sorry!" Sookie buried her face in my side. "Jessica, this is Eric Northman. Eric this is Jessica Hamby."

"Yeah, we kinda got that already, Sookie," Jessica smiled kindly.

"It's nice to meet you, Jessica," I shook her hand.

"Likewise. I've been hearing about you for a while now," Jessica said as she released my hand.

"Uh oh," I smiled at her and she blushed just a little. It was cute. "Don't listen to these two. Stick to what you read on the internet."

Sookie gasped and socked me in the ribs. "You shut your lips with that, mister!"

Sookie was my biggest supporter where faulty reporting on the internet was concerned. Why she bothered to keep tabs of some of the shit bloggers said about me I had no idea. It really burned her ass when someone said things that weren't true. I'd learned long ago that it was best to just shake it off and make jokes about it. Some of the shit was so far fetched I wondered how anyone could believe it. Besides, paying it too much mind made people wonder just how true it was. Ignoring it was often the best way to go.

Then there was also the fact that even though I worked in a very public profession, what I did on my own time was my own business. Whether that meant I was having sleazy one night stands or getting drunk off my ass in Mexico, it really wasn't anyone else's business. Of course you can't tell the paparazzi that because they're entitled to make their living and blah, blah, blah but whatever. It was what it was. Being famous had shown me who my true friends were, I'll tell you that.

I learned that Jessica and Sookie had been roommates in college, which was how Jason and Jessica had met. Jessica had a degree in education and was teaching second grade at the local elementary school. She'd grown up in a military family with a very strict father who didn't really approve of Jason. Jessica had defied her parents by agreeing to marry Jason but to her, it was all worth it. She was obviously in love with him; I could see it in her eyes when she talked about him.

I'd seen that look on girls before. Only when Jason appeared at Jessica's side, it was the first time I saw him looking back with the same expression. I decided I liked Jessica. Sookie was a tough customer and didn't trust people easily and she seemed to love Jessica almost as much as Jason did. That was good enough for me.

Eventually Jason and Jessica had to get on to greeting other guests but promised to find me later so we could catch up some more. I ordered myself a beer and then Sookie and I went in search of an empty pool table. We were both terrible pool players but it beat sitting at a table all night long, or letting a slightly buzzed Sookie anywhere near a dart board.

"So, Stackhouse, what are you doing these days?" I took a pull from my beer.

"Working mostly," she shrugged and sipped from her glass of bright yellow whatever it was.

"What the hell are you drinking?" I asked her since I had no idea.

"This is a Lemondrop and it's _delicious_," she smacked her lips.

"Are you drunk?" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"Nah…" she shook her head.

Two hours later that was no longer true. We were dancing to the awful euro music playing in the bar with a group of our friends. I forgot how good of a dancer Sookie was. Through my drunken haze I remembered coming home when I was twenty-three and the show I was filming at that time was on hiatus. Sookie just happened to sign up for the school talent show with some of her girlfriends… yeah, the Pussycat Dolls could have taken lessons, they were that good.

The only thing that has ever annoyed me about Sookie is her taste in music. She listens to country music or worse, euro dance stuff. I get that she likes dancing but is it really necessary to listen to stuff with way too much bass in it? I will, however, admit that if I hear it in a bar or a club while I'm out and about, I always think of her. No one else I know likes this shit.

"Come on, Eric, loosen up," Sookie reaches behind her to put her hands on my hips.

My crotch being that close to her ass while we're both drunk and sweaty isn't a good idea but I can't seem to pull myself away from her. We've been flirting more than usual. Whether or not that's because we've been drinking, I'm not sure. She caught me staring at her cleavage twice. The first time she looked surprised but the second time she leaned a little closer, giving me a better view. I couldn't tell if she was teasing me or if she was offering me an invitation.

The entire night had been a mess of mixed signals and awkward metaphorical dances. One minute it was like we completely forgot our history with one another, only to hear something that would trigger a memory and send us back to our childhood. Not only was I heavily flirting with a girl I'd known since she still played with dolls, but she was also the sister of one of my best friends. I tried to imagine what Jason's reaction would be if he found out I was into Sookie as more than a friend.

Sookie turned around so we were face to face and her breasts brushed against my chest. In spite of how warm it was in the bar with all the booze in our system and the bodies packed so close together, her nipples were definitely hard under her shirt. My eyes met hers and she was smiling up at me, trying to get me to relax but I couldn't. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what the right course of action was.

She was a big girl, capable of making her own decisions. She didn't need Jason's permission or blessing to be with me anymore than I did but it wasn't really about that. It was a courtesy thing. There was an unspoken rule about going after your buddy's sister or other family members. It wasn't as bad as going after your buddy's girlfriend, but it was still frowned upon.

"Eric!" Sookie waved her hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Okay, no more tequila shots for you tonight," she laughed, shaking her head at me.

When I stopped moving altogether and didn't say anything, she looked at me curiously. Her eyes searched mine, trying to figure out what my issue was and why I wasn't talking. Usually being around Sookie was sort of comforting. I figured it was because I'd known her for so long and we'd been so young when we first met that it was just a natural progression of things. With the amount of time I spent with her brother when we were younger, it only made sense that I would get to know her, too.

But it was different now. I couldn't explain the reasons why; it just was.

As if the night wasn't awkward enough just then, I leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't one of those happy-to-see-you kisses either; it was the real deal. She was too surprised to react at first but then she kissed back. Before we could get too far into it, she shoved me back and stormed off the dance floor. I stood there like a jerk, trying to figure out what to do next.

_Follow her, you jackass,_ I berated myself and looked around the bar to see if I could spot her. I found her just as she was pushing out the front doors. I made my way through the crowd which was easier said than done. Of course by the time I got outside she was nowhere to be seen. Sookie couldn't have gotten very far and the first place I looked was around the side of the building. I knew she was far too responsible to get behind the wheel when she was drunk like she was so I wasn't worried I was going to have to wrestle car keys from her.

"Sookie!" I called out when I saw her pacing at the far end of the lot and started running in her direction.

"Just go away, Eric! I don't want to talk about it!" she yelled back and turned away from me.

"Sookie, come on, it wasn't that big of a deal. It was just a kiss," I said as I ran toward her.

"You're my brother's best friend. I've known you since… God, I can barely remember life without you in it. Why would you do that?" she demanded, stumbling a little on the enormous heels she was wearing.

I reached out to steady her but she swung herself away from me and ended up bumping into a minivan instead. "Sookie, calm down."

"Fuck you!" she yelled at me. Was she always an angry drunk or was she just pissed off at me. "Do you have any idea…? You're like my… I can't even talk to you right now."

"Fine. I'm not leaving you out here alone though," I took a step back. "Just so you know I'm not sorry I did that. I've been thinking about it all night. Be as mad at me as you want but I'm not sorry."

Sookie said nothing, just continued to pace back and forth. She had one hand on her bare stomach and the other on her forehead like she was trying to settle those parts of herself. I couldn't quite decipher the look on her face. She was caught somewhere between confusion, anger and maybe a little sadness. Had I really fucked up that monumentally?

After about ten minutes of her pacing back and forth I finally said, "Sookie, will you please stop pacing? You're making me dizzy."

"You shouldn't have done that, Eric," she stopped pacing and stared right at me. "I don't know what you were thinking. I'm not sure I even want to know. I just know you shouldn't have done that. We're both drunk and tomorrow you might see all this very differently and I don't want to lose a friend because we're drunken idiots."

"That's not going to happen, Sookie. This doesn't have to be a big deal," I leaned against the brick wall to my right.

"You don't get it," she shook her head and started to walk toward the front of the bar again.

I reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her from getting away from me. If there was one thing I knew about Sookie, it was that she had a tendency to run when she got stressed out by things. She was the queen of putting things off until tomorrow to deal with. I'd seen her do it several times in the past where relationships were concerned. Just like she was my go-to girl for perspective on relationships, I'd become her go-to for the male perspective. I knew her tricks and I wasn't going to let her slink away from me.

"Don't run," I said when her eyes met mine.

"Don't tell me what to do," she jerked her arm but I didn't let go. "This party is about my brother, not about us."

"Well it's about us now, isn't it?"

"Which is exactly why I want you to let me go back inside so we can pretend like this didn't happen," Sookie pulled her arm again.

"Is that really what you want?" I asked and the look of fierce determination in her eyes told me it was. "Fine," I let go of her arm but she didn't walk away from me.

We were at a standstill, but what else was there to say? I'd already told her I'd kissed her because I wanted to and that I wasn't sorry for it. I wasn't going to apologize and do the Sookie thing and pretend it didn't happen. Obviously it affected her or she would have just brushed it off and told me she wasn't into it. But wait… did that mean she _was_ into it? It would explain why she was freaking out. It would also explain why she kissed back.

"You kissed me back," I reminded her.

"For like two seconds!" Sookie argued but that was enough.

"Doesn't matter," I shrugged.

"So now this is my fault?" her eyes widened. "You lose your damn mind and kiss me and somehow it's _my_ fault because I kissed you back for two seconds? Get bent, Northman!"

"God, you're an infuriating woman!" I shouted but not at her. "Fault doesn't matter here, Sookie, but if that'll make you feel better then I take full responsibility for it. Like I said before, I'm not sorry. I kissed you because I wanted to, because I was curious. And if you kissed back for the same reasons that's fine. Why are you making a big deal out of it if it doesn't matter?"

"Because it matters!" she shouted at me, taking a step into my personal space. "You're one of my best friends and I know we've always had this connection between us. You've always been there for me, Eric. Even more than Jason has and I…"

"What?" I wanted her to finish what she was saying.

"Forget it," she shook her head but it was too late for that. She'd somehow managed to say too much while not saying enough.

"No! You're going to finish what you were thinking. We're going to settle this right now," I insisted.

Sookie took a series of deep breaths and tears welled in her eyes. Fuck. Her tears were like my personal kryptonite. I could handle a lot of bad shit in the world but not a crying Sookie. Fuck. My. Life.

"I've loved you in one way or another since we were kids," she admitted. One way or another? What the hell did that mean?

"Explain," I said gently. When she shook her head and hesitated to tell me what was on her mind I said, "You just told me that I'm one of your best friends. If that's true then you can say anything to me and it will be alright. I'm not going to run from you, Sookie."

"Eric, that is so not even close to being the problem," Sookie deflated and turned away from me.

"Then explain it to me because I am so fucking lost right now! You're talking in circles and I'm still not following you," I sighed and then reached out to turn her around. "For just a minute, pretend that I'm not the guy who kissed you. Just talk to me like I'm your best friend."

Sookie frowned a little bit but what I suggested must have worked because she started talking. "I didn't freak out because you kissing me was a bad thing. I know it could be something we chocked up to just an experiment or a drunken act of stupidity. The problem with that is it only works if we can both agree that it meant nothing, and for me, it means something."

"What does it mean to you?"

"I need to know what it means to you first," Sookie said, dropping the act of us being just friends.

"Honestly, I don't know. It happened so fast and it was… I thought about it but in the moment it was an impulse. I saw a chance so I took it. And then you walked away so quickly that it feels unfinished," I told her.

Her brows finished and she said, "So finish."

Was that an invitation? Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline and when I didn't act quickly enough she grabbed my face and kissed me. As soon as her lips touched mine I knew what kissing her meant. Being just friends with her was no longer an option for me. Kissing her felt natural, like it was what I was supposed to be doing, and the fact that she was still kissing back gave me hope that she was feeling the exact same thing. Sookie broke the kiss before I could lick her lip like I wanted to but that was okay. I still knew what I needed to know and judging by the look on her face, so did she.

"Are we finished now?" she asked a dazed expression on her face.

"No," I shook my head and pulled her face back to mine to kiss her again.

Only this time she didn't fight me on it and when I licked her lip like I'd wanted to, she opened her mouth just enough. I explored her slowly, at first, but then deepened the kiss to see what she would do. Would she push me away or explore the way I was? I stumbled back against the wall, bringing her with me. She leaned against me, her body pressed firmly against mine, rubbing against me in all the right places.

When the kiss broke again we were both breathless and staring at each other, searching for the right words to say. I smiled at her and she smiled back. Good sign. My hands were still in her hair although I didn't remember putting them there. Her hands were on my chest, trying to put some space between us. I'd be damned if I was going to let that happen.

"Let's get out of here," Sookie said suddenly.

"Where are we going?" I asked when she started to pull away from me.

"My apartment is three blocks from here," she tugged on my hand.

"Are you sure-"

"Did that kiss mean something to you?" she asked me even though I was sure she already knew the answer.

"Of course it did," I pulled her back to me and moved to kiss her again but she blocked me.

"Then let's go," she insisted and started walking.

I had no idea where her apartment was in correlation to the bar but it turned out we stopped every ten feet or so, pawing at each other the whole way back to her apartment. What had started out as just a curious experiment had turned into something much bigger than I could have imagined. When we reached her apartment she pulled her key from her pocket and opened the door for us.

I followed her inside and before she even had the door closed, I pushed her against the wall and kissed her again. No hesitation from either of us by then. We stumbled up the stairs, trying to keep the kiss going and starting to undress each other at the same time. We were still in the stairwell when I pulled her shirt up over her head. In an effort to one up me, she unbuttoned my jeans when we reached her apartment door.

Sookie turned around to unlock the door and my hands moved up from her hips to her breasts and pushed the cups up. God help us if any of the neighbors came out into the hallway just then. She paused when my fingers found her nipples and began to pinch and twist them just a little. She sucked in a deep breath and then got the deadbolt thrown back out of the way.

I leaned down to kiss her neck and shoulders and I was just about to go for her ear when she got the door open. She stepped into the apartment and I followed, kicking the door behind me to close it. We were in her kitchen and I immediately lifted her to put her up on the counter. I stopped for a second just to look at her.

Already her lips were swollen from kissing and her makeup was a bit smudged from the emotional roller coaster we'd taken an unwanted ride on. I tucked some of hair behind her ear and held her face in my hands. Why hadn't it ever occurred to me before that night how beautiful she was? I lowered my head slowly, giving her the chance to push me away if she wanted to but she didn't.

When I kissed her again it wasn't just about lust or trying to prove a point. I'd already proven my point. There was chemistry between us that had gone untapped for too long. It was like taking a match to a powder keg and any second, we were going to explode. It was the most amazing feeling and one I could safely say I'd never experienced in the past.

Sookie carefully worked down the zipper of my jeans and then gasped in surprise when she realized I wasn't wearing underwear. I'd never been much of a fan of it but as of late, I'd pretty much given up on the concept. I pulled back again and tugged my own shirt up over my head and dropped it on the floor.

Sookie bit her bottom lip while her eyes traveled over me. I took a step closer to the counter and she leaned forward to kiss my chest. While she did I reached behind her and unhooked her bra so it would be out of the way once and for all. I'd seen my share of great boobs in my life but hers were better, if only because they were homegrown instead of store bought. If you've seen one tit job, you've seen them all and it was always easy to spot what was real and what was fake.

Her bra landed on the floor somewhere behind me and my hands moved to hold what had been cradled by black lace for the earlier part of the night. My thumbs brushed over her nipples and she shuddered a little while she moaned against my chest. She looked up into my eyes and smiled.

"Are we really doing this?" she asked, her hands coming to a stop on my sides.

"Do you want to stop?" I asked. Stopping would have sucked but I wouldn't push her if she didn't want it.

"No," she shook her head and her smile got bigger. "This feels right."

I kissed her again, squeezing her nipples when I did and she again moaned in surprise. I trailed kisses from her mouth across the line of her jaw and down to her ear where I whispered, "This is best."

Her legs wrapped around my waist and I lifted her off the counter. "Bedroom," she pointed behind her.

Getting lost in her little apartment was next to impossible and I found her bedroom easily. She had one of those old metal framed beds that I was sure she'd nabbed from her Gran's attic when she moved out into her own place. I set her down on the bed and reached to unbutton her pants. I'd been trying to figure out what she had tattooed to her hip and I'm pretty sure my eyes bugged out when I got her pants down enough to see it.

"When did you get this?" I traced my fingers over the number 34 that was etched into her skin. 34 was the number on the jersey I'd worn in the first TV show I'd worked on. My character was a basketball player and the show had since gone off the air but it was my big break. Without that show, I wasn't sure I would have gotten very far.

"On my eighteenth birthday," Sookie confessed and I was shocked. I wanted to ask why she hadn't told me but the flaming in her cheeks made it obvious. "I wanted a tattoo and I wanted to have something that would still mean as much to me in fifty years as it did that day. You mean something to me, Eric. You always have."

Fuck. How did I miss that? I knew we were friends but this was something else. A person didn't just get a tattoo like that for a friend. There was something much bigger going on that friendship and I had been oblivious to it for years. Was I blind or was Sookie a better actor than I was?

"You don't have to say anything," she sat up.

"That's why you freaked out when I kissed you, isn't it?" I didn't need to put the rest of it into words. I knew she knew I got it now and she nodded to prove it.

"I didn't know how to tell you. I thought it would just go away," she whispered.

"Do you want it to go away?" I sat down beside her on her squeaky old bed. Her poor neighbors were in for a show.

"I used to think so but no, I don't," she admitted, her eyes burning into mine.

"Do you love me?" I asked her and then rephrased. "Are you _in_ love with me?"

"Since I was seventeen," she dropped her eyes.

Seven years? _Seven years_. That's a long time to keep something like that to yourself. I lifted her chin with my fingertips. I couldn't tell her I was in love with her because that just wasn't true. I did love her and while I could feel things changing between us, I couldn't go so far as to tell her I was in love with her when I wasn't. I cared about her far too much to lie to her that way.

"You know I love you but I'm not _in_ love with you. That doesn't mean it can't become that way but right now, in this moment, that's not the way I feel. Does that change your mind?" I wanted her to be sure and not regret her choice in the morning. My buzz had faded some in face of all the back and forth we'd done in the parking lot and I wasn't so big an asshole that I would take advantage of a drunk, vulnerable girl who was in love with me just because she was a great kisser with amazing tits. Sookie deserved more than that.

"This doesn't have to be about love. It is what it is. But thank you for being honest with me," she took my hand in hers. "Do you want to stop?"

Somewhere in my head I knew the smarter thing to do was to stop it now but it didn't feel like a mistake to me. Something in my gut told me it was going to be okay, no matter how we felt in the morning. Like she said, it didn't have to be about love, but I knew it wasn't just sex either.

"I want you," I told her and that was the magic answer.

Sookie pulled me down on top of her, her bed creaking under our combined weight. My hips settled against hers and her legs closed around my waist again. How I still had my jeans on, I had no idea but those fuckers had to go immediately. We rolled over on her bed so she was straddling me and started to rock her hips against mine. I sat up and took one of her nipples into my mouth while my hand moved between us to push her panties to the side.

"Fucking hell, you're wet," I looked up at her, enjoying the intensity in her eyes.

My lips fastened around her other nipple while my fingers parted her lower lips, tracing them in a teasing way before letting my fingertip brush against her clit. Her hips jolted when I did that and I smiled against her skin. I released the swollen bud that was in my mouth and reached for her neck with my free hand. I pulled her mouth to mine and kissed her deeply, our tongues battling for dominance. I slipped a finger inside her and she moaned loudly. The rhythm of my tongue against hers countered the finger that was pumping in and out of her.

"You're so hot and tight, Sookie," I bit her bottom lip and carefully rolled her onto her back. "I wonder," I said as I stared to kiss my way down her body. "If you taste good everywhere."

She whimpered when I removed my finger and sucked it into my mouth. Jesus fucking Christ, she was amazing. Rather than tugging her panties off, I pulled a total caveman and just ripped them. She gasped in surprise but what the hell were lace panties for if you weren't going to rip them off a girl? The scraps ended up on the bedroom floor somewhere and before she could lecture me for destroying her panties, I buried my face between her thighs.

"Oh sweet Jesus!" she lifted her hips off the bed and I ended up moving a hand up to her lower abdomen to hold her down.

I flicked my tongue against her clit a couple of times before licking the length of her slit. She was coated in the sweetest honey I'd ever tasted and when I slid two fingers inside her, my lips fastened around her clit. Between her taste, the noises she was making and the way her pussy started to tighten around my fingers, I knew fucking her was going to be the experience of a lifetime.

"You taste so good, Sookie," I said and gently sucked one of her lips into my mouth. She moaned in response, staring down at me. "I could spend all night just fucking you with my tongue."

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head when my fingers reached a spot inside of her that I had to assume was her g-spot. Her pussy got tighter around my fingers and when I latched onto her clit again, she screamed my name. Fuck yes!

"Say it again," I smiled up at her and pumped into her a little faster, making sure to stroke the same spot over and over again.

"Eric, don't stop!" she was grasping the bedspread, pulling fistfuls of it up off the mattress.

"Wasn't planning to, lover," the pet name came out of my mouth before I could stop it, but if it bothered her, she didn't say so. "I'm going to fuck you so hard, Sookie."

She just whimpered again, her hips fighting against the hold I had on her. She screamed when she came and her entire body shook, her pussy convulsing around my fingers. Fuck, that was going to feel great when it was my cock inside her instead. I waited until she stopped shaking before slowly withdrawing my fingers from her. I immediately put them in my mouth and licked them clean. I would be going down on her again before the night was over.

Finally still having my jeans on paid off. As cliché as it was, there was an emergency condom in my wallet. Laugh all you want but I always figured it was better to be prepared. My jeans fell to the floor and I ripped the condom package open. Before I could start putting it on, however, Sookie took it from me.

"Let me," she smiled up at me. I wasn't going to stop her.

What I wasn't expecting was for her to put the condom on me with her mouth. She couldn't roll it on all the way but that wasn't a surprise. Sookie used her hand to do the rest and while I would have loved to sample her oral skills, that could wait. I needed to be inside her then or I was going to blow my load and waste the condom. I didn't know if she had others in her place, or if she was on any other form of birth control. As far as I knew we had one condom and one shot—that meant not wasting time on a blowjob.

I positioned myself on top of her and rubbed the head of my erection against her clit, watching her eyes roll a little when I did it. I moved my cock up and down her slit, gathering her juices in the process. At the last minute I rolled us over again. Having her on top made more sense. I knew she wasn't a virgin (which I didn't really want to think about just then) but I didn't know just how many guys she'd been with. What I did know was that she was tight and I was bigger than most. Being on top gave her more control and I didn't want her to be in pain.

"Are you ready?" I asked her when I position my cock at her entrance.

"Yeah," she nodded, biting her lower lip.

"Relax, Sookie," I moved my other hand so that I was able to grip her hip and rub her clit at the same time.

She cried out but started to sink down. She paused with just the head of my cock inside her, her eyes wide. "Fuck, you're huge."

I grinned like a jack ass and rubbed her clit a little faster. She sank down another two inches or so, giving herself time to adjust. "When's the last time you had sex?" I asked her out of curiosity. Her brows furrowed and I said, "I don't want the details, just the timeline."

"More than a year ago," she admitted, not looking me in the eye as she said so. "And you're much bigger than the last guy."

Sookie took her time, which was fine with me even though I felt the urge to flip us over and just pound into her. She was so hot and tight but I wasn't going to be an asshole and force myself the rest of the way inside her. When I was all the way inside her, her hand settled on her lower abdomen where I had been holding her down before.

"Shit, I can feel you here," her eyes were wide. Her hips rocked a little and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

"Fuck, Sookie," I muttered and I gripped her hips a little harder. Then her hips rolled and my self-control went out the window. I held her hips up and started to pound up into her. She cried out in surprise and braced herself on my chest. "Lean back," I instructed and her hands shifted to my thighs instead.

"Oh God!" she cried, unprepared for what the change in angles would do to her. "Oh fuck, don't stop!"

Not only did I not stop, I watched as my cock slide in and out of her and shit, it was amazing. One of her hands moved around to her front and watching her rub her clit on top of everything else threatened to push me over the edge. No fucking way was I going to cum that fast. I lifted her up high enough that I slid out of her entirely and she whimpered again.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked breathlessly.

"Get on your knees," I told her and she shifted off of me so she was on her hands and knees beside me.

I the blink of an eye I was behind her, rubbing my cock against her entrance again. I could see her juices on her thighs and I couldn't stop myself from leaning down to lick her glistening slit. She shuddered and looked over her shoulder at me. My tongue slid inside her and she was just about to cum when I shifted again and drove my cock inside her instead.

"Fuck!" she shouted and backed her hips up to meet my thrusts. "Harder, Eric. Fuck me harder."

I never would have imagined Sookie was so vocal in bed, but it was always the quiet ones, wasn't it? I grabbed onto her hips hard enough that I was sure there would be bruises there the next day. I pounded against her and reached to grab her hair. Her pussy started to tighten again, almost spastically milking me while she came. She screamed my name while she orgasmed and it was the best thing I ever heard.

Even better? I wasn't done yet.

I pulled her up so her back was flush against my chest and my hands settled on her breasts, cupping them while they bounced against my palms in time with my thrusts. I pinched and twisted her nipples, sucked on her neck and bit gently on her shoulder. We were both sweating by then and I knew I wasn't going to last much longer.

"Cum with me, Sookie," I growled in her ear and she moaned again.

Her hand moved and over her shoulder I could see her playing with her clit again. She cried out with every thrust inside her and I couldn't have possibly fucked her any harder for faster than I was in those moments. She turned her face and I kissed her, swallowing her moans. Her bed creaked and the headboard smacked against the wall. I felt the trembling of her inner muscles again and when she broke the kiss to scream my name again, I let go and came with her.

"Fuck, Sookie!" I shouted when my body went rigid. I grabbed her hips and slammed myself into her as deep as I could get. Swear to God my orgasm came from my toes. That was a first for me.

She was fucking perfect and I told her as much. I didn't want to pull out of her but I didn't have a choice. Fucking condom had to be disposed of before there was a great big mess. I got rid of the thing and dropped it into the garbage can next to her bed. I fell beside her and pulled her close. She already knew I was the snuggling sort. We might have been just friends until that night but we'd watched enough movies together in the past for her to know about my affinity for cuddling.

"Thank you," I whispered against her forehead and kissed her wet, salty skin.

"Oh no, thank _you_," she giggled and threw one of her legs over mine. "That was… why didn't we do that before?"

"Because we're idiots," was the only answer I could come up with.

She giggled some more and I couldn't help laughing with her. We lay there quietly for a few minutes just trying to catch our breath until Sookie shifted a little and looked up at me. "I want to do that again."

"I don't have anymore condoms," I told her.

"Are you clean? When's the last time you got tested?" she asked me.

"I'm clean. Got tested three months ago. I had to get a physical for the movie I'm starting in two weeks," I kissed her softly.

"I'm on the shot," she grinned and then rolled over, pulling me on top of her.


	2. Chapter 2

I grabbed my pants off the floor and pulled out my phone. Pam could wait until later. I needed to talk to Sookie. I ignored Pam's call and then turned off my phone. I put the phone back in my pocket and dropped my pants on the floor. I stared down at Sookie and tried to measure what I was feeling. I was amazed to find my feelings hadn't changed much from the night before.

She was still my friend. I still loved her as much as I ever had and I definitely wanted to fuck her again. We'd gone three rounds before passing out and I still wanted more. I lay down again and pulled her as close as I could. Sookie burrowed against my chest and let her arm slide across my stomach. I closed my eyes and fell asleep breathing in the scent of her hair.

I fell into a dream where I was on an airplane with Sookie. I was sitting in the window seat during an overnight flight and the rest of the passengers on the plane were asleep. I was just dozing off when Sookie's hand worked its way under my blanket and then into my track pants. She leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder so it would be easy for someone walking by to think we were both asleep, when it reality, she was jerking me off.

As it often happens in dreams we were suddenly in the bathroom on the plane. She was sitting on the toilet with her hands on my hips, guiding my cock in and out of her hot and tight little mouth. I was hitting the back of her throat with every thrust of my hips and her moaning around my erection felt fucking awesome. And real. Like scary real. I'd never felt anything like it in a dream before.

Consciousness started to seep into my brain and the drifting of my hand down toward my cock revealed that I wasn't just dreaming that blowjob. My eye opened a sliver to find Sookie on her knees between my legs; her eyes on mine and my cock in her mouth. Of all the things we'd done last night, her blowing me wasn't one of them. She was rectifying that now, obviously.

In doing so that also meant I didn't need to ask if she regretted the night before. If that was the case, she would have kicked me out of bed the second she woke up and realized she was naked next to me. Instead, she opted to wake me up the way every guy wishes he could be woken up every morning of his life. She changed tactics for a moment, letting her hand back in on the action to stroke my shaft while she just swirled her tongue around the head. Her eyes were so intense on mine but I couldn't quite read the message she was trying to convey.

"I'm close," I warned her and she smiled. _She fucking smiled_. Like the naughty little minx I knew she could be she moved her hand out of the way and plunged down on my cock again, taking it further down her throat than before. Annnnnnnnd, that did it.

I came with a jerk and a string of curses. Sookie continued to suck gently before releasing me from her mouth. Holy fucking shit. I may not have been in love with her, but I was in love with the things her body could do to mine.

"Good morning," she smiled up at me while she repositioned herself so she was straddling my waist. She was wet again.

"I'd say so," I pulled her down to kiss her. Morning breath wasn't really an issue considering she'd just had my cock in her mouth. When I broke the kiss I held her face close to mine and said, "I woke up a while ago. I was kind of nervous about how you were going to react this morning. Looks like that was all for nothing."

"Oh, I had my moment of panic," Sookie confirmed for me and sat back on my stomach. "But then I remembered you're one of my best friends and that hadn't changed just because we had sex. I found out last night that I really can say anything to you."

I grinned at that. Sookie, as it turned out, was a dirty talker in bed. It was sexy as hell.

"Yes you certainly can," I let my hand drift down to her chest. "In case I didn't tell you this last night, you have amazing tits."

She blushed furiously but didn't bat my hand away or try to cover herself up. "Thank you."

"Oh no, thank _you_," I winked, gently squeezing one of them.

"Okay, stop," she laughed and climbed off of me. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

I growled at her and she rolled her eyes. "Oh you mean actual food?"

"We have to refuel some time, don't we?" she smirked over her shoulder as she grabbed her robe off the back of her bedroom door.

That was definitely a loaded question. I liked it. I nodded while she tied the front of her robe closed, even though it was a shame for her boobs to be covered up like that. They really were awesome. Sookie headed back to her kitchen while I went across the hall to the bathroom to take a leak.

I was just washing my hands when I heard the coffee grinder start. There were a couple of key things to know about Sookie Stackhouse. The most important of those things, as far as I was concerned, was that she was a coffee addict. Forget bringing her flowers or chocolates if you fucked up. Bring her one of the ridiculous venti non-fat, double whip, extra foam, mocha, triple shot whatevers that she likes and you're going to have a much calmer Sookie to deal with- which is ironic considering the amount of caffeine in one of those bitches.

After washing my hands I remembered that Pam had been calling nonstop earlier that morning and went back to Sookie's bedroom to see what that was about. Pam was probably dangerously close to being on a plane to see what the fuck my problem was. It wasn't like me to not answer the phone. I turned the phone back on and I had a shit ton of text messages and even more voice mail waiting for me. What the fuck happened this morning? Did the rest of the world cave in while I was fucking Sookie?

I pulled on my jeans, thinking her neighbors didn't need to see my bare ass walking around her apartment. I Before I could start reading the texts that were waiting for me, Pantera began to play again. Fucking Pam.

"What the fuck, Pam?" I growled into the phone.

"You're alive! Thank fuck!" Pam shouted in response, clearly relieved.

"What the…? Why the fuck wouldn't I be alive?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen. Sookie whipped around and shot me a 'what the fuck' face while Pam started ranting in my ear.

"You haven't been on the internet yet this morning, have you?" Pam asked.

"Uh, no, Pam, I've been otherwise engaged," I smiled at Sookie who was laying out bacon strips in an old cast iron skillet. "Why, what's up?"

"Interesting choice of words there. Did you forget that most cell phones have cameras these days?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"Because that blonde girl you were with last night, the one with the perky tits and an ass you could bounce a quarter off of? There's video of you two pawing each other from the outside of some backwater bar all the way to what I assume was her apartment. It's all over the internet, Eric," Pam informed me.

I was silent. I didn't know what to say for a minute. I looked nervously at Sookie, wondering what she was going to think of all this. Finally, at Pam insistence that I speak I said, "Pam, let me call you back."

She didn't get to finish her thought before she was hung up on.

"What's going on?" Sookie asked curiously. She knew who Pam was because I'd talked about her before. Pam was a shark in designer clothing. She was the best PR person I'd ever met and her ability to spin things was amazing.

"There uh, there's video of us on the internet this morning," I said, seeing no reason to sugar coat it.

"What?" Sookie knocked the eggs off the counter when she turned around, creating a great big mess. "Fuck! Eric, what kind of video?"

"Apparently someone spotted us making out in the parking lot at the bar and followed us back to your apartment," I told her and she turned white as a sheet.

"Oh God," she muttered and hid her face in her hands. "What if my Gran sees it?"

That was a distinct possibility. Personally, I was a little more worried about what Jason was going to say but I knew how much her Gran's opinion mattered to her. As far as Sookie was concerned, her grandmother may as well have been God.

"It's going to be okay," I reached out to her, wondering if this was when the reality of what we'd done was going to hit her.

This was the moment of truth. Was she going to shrug it off or was this the thing that would make her pull away from me? But then she let me pull her into a hug and she burrowed her face into my chest. No running. It was like I was dealing with a whole new Sookie.

"I can't believe this," she muttered against me.

"It's not the end of the world, Sookie," I stroked her hair.

"No offense, Eric, but you're used to being filmed while kissing someone. This is new territory for me," she sighed and pulled back.

"Well not to get picky about it, but there's a difference between kissing someone for a movie and what we did last night. None of what we did was acting," I reminded her.

"Yeah, I know but still…" she knelt down to start cleaning up the eggs. "What do we do now? How do we make this go away? Can we make this go away?"

_**We.**_ Not her, not me, we.

Good questions. Time to call Pam back and see what the best course of action was because no doubt she already had a plan.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

It turned out the answer was a simple one: we went public. Sookie and I had a long talk about what we wanted and where we wanted our relationship to go. It had happened kind of backwards but we came to the conclusion we wanted to give the dating thing a try. I definitely hadn't come home expecting to leave with a girlfriend, and I never would have imagined that girlfriend would be Sookie.

Yet it made sense.

After settling that with Pam so she could issue a press release on the matter, Sookie and I went and talked to her family. Everyone met over at Gran's and I was a long familiar face there. As I suspected, the only one who seemed to take issue with Sookie and I advancing into coupledom was Jason. What surprised me wasn't that he had assumed I would treat his sister badly, or that I was just interested in her because I wanted to fuck her (which I did, and planned to do again as soon as we got back to her apartment). What concerned him was the logistics of our relationship.

The distance between us would be considerable most of the time. I was shooting movies while on hiatus from the show I was still working on. Home in my heart was Louisiana but my street address was in Miami, where my show did most of its shooting. I liked Miami and I was sure that Sookie would, too. Of course she couldn't just pack up and move out there and I wasn't going to ask her to. Living together so quickly would be a huge mistake and since we still weren't sure what was going to happen with us, it was best to take it one step at a time.

I was leaving the country the following week to start shooting in Scotland. I'd been offered a role as a Viking in a period piece about that time. We would be shooting in Scotland and Iceland, which was great because I'd never been to either country before. I was excited about starting on the project. It would occupy most of my time before I had to get back to Miami to start working on the next season of my show.

Of course that meant little time for Sookie. Our relationship would end up reverting to texts, phone calls, emails, Facebook comments and the occasional conversation by Skype. If she could get the time off, I would be more than willing to fly her out to see me. Taking a tour of the country with her might be fun. But there was time to plan for that.

When I assured Jason that I would do my best to make Sookie happy, he backed off a little. Jason knew I kept my promises. I never gave my word unless I was sure I could follow up on it. And I promised him that regardless of what happened with Sookie and me, he and I would still be friends. He added the codicil that if I broke his sister's heart, he was going to break my neck, kneecaps and whatever else he could get his hands on. That was fair. I would expect nothing less from him.

I talked Sookie into flying with me to Miami and spending my last night at my place before I had to leave the country. That way she could see me off at the airport and we'd have a little time alone with each other before I had to go. I mentioned flying her out to Scotland and she promised to check into seeing if she could get the time off for it.

"This view is amazing," she said while staring out my living room window.

"Yes it is," I stood behind her, my eyes sweeping over her body. "And the ocean looks good, too."

"You know there's really only one way this view could get better," Sookie turned around to face me.

"I know. Take your shirt off," I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She burst out laughing and said, "I was going to say the same thing to you."

It was then that I realized we were going to work because we were both dorks and didn't care. We embraced our inner nerds and could say cheesy, goofy shit to each other and that only made things better. I could throw ridiculous lines at her and she would roll her eyes but I knew she took it in the spirit in which it had been intended. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that intent was to get her naked. Ninety-five percent of the time I got my way. I liked those ratios.

Sookie stepped toward me and asked, "So, Mr. Northman, how do you want to spend your last night in Miami?"

"I have a few ideas," I looked down at her.

"Do any of them involve the beach, because I just happen to have a brand new bikini that needs breaking in," she grinned at me.

"We could start with that," I nodded but then kissed her anyway.

I pulled her down on the couch with me and made quick work of removing her clothes. I had her on her back in no time and quickly buried my face between her thighs. She had opted out of joining the mile high club. We already had video of us floating around on the internet and she wasn't interested in having a second one out there. I couldn't really blame her for it, even though the response had mostly been positive. Pam had let it slip that we had known each other since we were kids and people were swooning over the sweetness of that information.

Personally, I didn't care what anyone thought of her, or our relationship. It wasn't anyone's business but ours. I was happy and I knew she felt the same way. That's all that mattered to me.

"Eric," she tugged on my hair and I looked up at her. "I want you inside me."

Yes and ma'am.

I pulled off my clothes and sat on the couch. She climbed on top of me and lowered herself down on my cock. That feeling never got old, nor did the look in her eyes when she did it. Her fingers dug into my shoulders and she paused for a moment before starting to rock her hips. I leaned forward to kiss and suck her breasts while my hands grabbed her ass to guide her up and down.

It really was hard to figure out why we had waited so long to get to this point. Sex with Sookie was easily the best I'd ever had. I figured it had to be something about timing. If we had tried to do this a year ago it probably wouldn't mean to us what it meant now. I always circled back to the line of thinking that everything happens for a reason and the important thing was that we had figured it out. The planets had aligned and we had followed our hearts instead of listening to logic and all the reasons why it would probably be smarter to just stay friends.

Maybe it wouldn't last forever but at the moment, it felt fucking perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

_Two Months Later…_

I stood at the terminal in Aberdeen, waiting for Sookie to appear. Getting her to Scotland was easier in theory than in reality. She'd flown from Dallas to Washington D.C., where there was a nasty storm that delayed her flight to London by three hours. That meant she missed her original connecting flight to Aberdeen and had ended up spending a night in an overpriced hotel. So a day later than we originally planned, she was finally arriving in Scotland.

Two months without seeing her in the past was no big deal. Sure I missed her but not the same as I missed her now. I grinned like a jack ass when I saw her. I shook my head at her choice of outfits. She was wearing plaid cropped pants and a cream t-shirt that was hanging off one of her shoulders. Her hair was pulled back in a messy knot and she was wearing the necklace I'd sent her two weeks after arriving in Scotland. It was a simple gold chain with a Viking horn pendant on it.

She dropped her carryon bag when she got to me and put her arms up for a hug. I picked her up by her thighs and her arms closed tightly around my neck. I didn't give a single fuck if there were paparazzi hidden in the crowd, but I didn't think there was. A couple of pictures from the set had leaked but it wasn't like if I was filming in America or London. For the most part, Scotland had been pretty quiet for me.

"I missed you," I whispered in her ear and I could only hope she didn't start crying.

"I missed you too," she turned her face to mine and kissed me softly. She tasted like butterscotch and the little minx that she was, Sookie rubbed her hips against me. When the kiss broke she moved to my ear and said, "All I could think about was fucking you for the last two hours. This needs to happen."

Walking through a Scottish airport with a hard-on had never been on my bucket list but it was happening anyway. There was a car waiting for us out in the parking lot. I knew there was no way I'd be able to keep my hands off her long enough to drive us back to my hotel. The driver put her baggage in the trunk and we climbed into the backseat. Pants and fucking around in the backseat didn't quite go together but we quickly figured it out.

Sookie wasn't kidding when she'd said she'd been thinking about sex for the last two hours. She didn't even bother with foreplay. I'd never been mauled by her before but I wasn't complaining either. She got her pants down just far enough and bent over on her hands and knees on the floor of the car so she was facing the partition that divided the back and the front of the car. She braced herself on the leather and looked back at me while I positioned myself behind her.

"Fuck," I muttered as I slid inside her. "So fucking wet, lover."

I could see the 'I told you so' in her eyes and she started to move back and forth, fucking herself on my cock. I matched her movements and it was obvious this was strictly about getting off. After two months of not seeing each other, it was necessary. We'd be sweet with each other later. When she started to get loud I leaned forward to cover her mouth, which only seemed to turn her on even more. That was an interesting tidbit I'd keep for later.

"I missed you, lover, and how tight your pussy gets when you cum for me," I whispered in her ear and she moaned against my hand. She bit my palm a little and squeezed her muscles around my cock, making me groan in response.

My other hand reached around and rubbed her clit and her orgasm triggered mine. I bit her shoulder to keep from shouting when I came. Her body started to sag a little and as much as I didn't want to, I pulled out of her. She whimpered quietly and then started to giggle. She did that when she came really hard. I liked that I knew that about her. It was information most people wouldn't know.

We got our clothing back in place and had barely snuggled up against each other on the seat when the car came to a stop at my hotel. I, along with the rest of the cast, was staying at the Ardoe House Hotel. It looked like a small castle and from what I could gather, was a popular place for weddings. I could understand why. It was a beautiful hotel out in the Scottish countryside. Well, to me it was countryside.

Unfortunately the delay in Sookie's flight meant that I'd spent most of my day off waiting for her to arrive. I had an early call time the next day and was supposed to be on set at four in the morning. The good thing for me was that I'd never really been the type to require very much sleep. I knew, however, that having her next to me meant I would be sleeping like a log and I wasn't going to want to get up when my alarm went off. We were shooting near Cove Bay. We had several locations and would be shooting father north up near Peterhead starting next week.

Sookie was only going to be with me for three days and I planned to make the most of it. Sookie, however, seemed to be content to spend her first night in Scotland in bed with me. Frankly, I was fine with that since I had to be up so early anyway. I went over my schedule with her for the next couple of days. There was a lot of hurry up and wait when it came to shooting movies. I knew I'd be spending the first hour or two in the makeup trailer when I got to the set. They had to dirty me up accordingly and then there was the costume.

I'd sent Sookie a picture of me from the set via text message. She had responded by telling me she expected a proper pillaging when she saw me. I hoped she didn't think that's what happened in the limo because I didn't consider that a proper pillaging at all. We both knew we could do better than that.

Sookie flopped back on the full size bed in the room and giggled when her feet nearly reached the end of the mattress. "Oh, sweetie, your poor feet."

"Yeah I'm getting some serious hang time from my shins down," I stretched out next to her. Why were beds made for little people?

"The downside to being a giant," she turned on her side and snuggled up against me.

"I'm not _that_ tall," I wrapped my arms around her and she laughed again.

"Oh sure. I see people your height every day," she playfully pinched my stomach. "Besides, I like how tall you are. It'll be a great advantage if we ever go to a concert. I can climb up on your shoulders."

I laughed at the thought of if. Knowing Sookie, she wouldn't hesitate one bit to climb on me like a little monkey. She'd done it before at a football game we went to. She couldn't see so she just jumped on my back like it was no big deal. Really, it wasn't.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her, my head rolling to the side.

"I could eat," she nodded.

"Good. Then let's go down to the restaurant and get something to eat before we get too comfortable," I kissed her forehead. By comfortable, of course I meant naked. The smile on her face told me she was reading me loud and clear.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

Three A.M. came way too soon. After eating dinner down in the restaurant we'd gone to the bar for drinks with some of the other cast members. They all knew Sookie was coming in to visit and after a few minutes of hazing, they lightened up on her. I was shooting with mostly other guys but one of the girls that had been cast was an unknown actress on her first big job. She was slated to play my love interest and I'd wanted her to meet Sookie, if only to put to rest any hidden worries Sookie might have had about it.

We'd talked about the fact that I worked in a business where I was going to have to get physical with other women from time to time. Sookie understood that it was just acting, that the feelings weren't real. She'd seen me kiss other girls in movies and on the different shows I'd worked on. She trusted me enough to know that it was just part of the job. I'd also made it a point to show her by example that I didn't kiss my co-stars the way I kissed her.

Between the traveling and the sex, Sookie was wiped out and stayed in bed after I left. I'd told her to call me when she woke up so I could send someone to get her. She called around noon, right when I was about to start shooting. I'd given my phone to my assistant to make arrangements for Sookie's transport to the set. Angles were being set for the next shot when she arrived.

"You should dress like this at home," Sookie winked at me when I went over to kiss her hello.

"Only if you'll wear a school girl outfit," I smirked at her and she blushed, her eyes moving away from mine. "Don't tell me you have one of those."

"I didn't say that!" she slapped at my arm but she didn't have to say it.

Sookie in pigtails, a plaid skirt and a tight button down shirt filled my mind and I had to push the image away if I was going to be able to walk back on set without sporting epic wood. The production couldn't stop so I could drag her back to my trailer and fuck her silly, even if that was exactly what I wanted to do just then. I introduced Sookie to some of the other people in the cast, as well as a few members of the crew.

One of the production assistants got her a pair of headphones so she could listen to the dialogue as we filmed. I was worried that having her around might be distracting but I was professional enough to keep my shit together when the cameras were rolling. In between takes was another story. By the time I was done for the night it was after dinnertime.

We stopped by the craft service table to grab something to eat before I headed back to my trailer to get cleaned up. I was dirty courtesy of the stunts and the makeup department and in desperate need of a shower. Sookie, of course, was all too willing to help me with that. Unfortunately the shower in the trailer definitely wasn't big enough for two so she was going to have to wait until we got back to the hotel.

The rest of her time in Scotland passed quickly and we didn't get to do as much sightseeing as I would have liked. I was taking her to the airport in Aberdeen way too soon but at least I would be back in the States in two weeks, if all went according to plan. The rest would be filmed on sound stages in California but I wouldn't have to be out there right away. I'd probably get about a week off before I had to fly out there to finish things up.

Two weeks after that I would start filming my show again and I would have to do some voiceover recordings for the movie. It was a slightly grueling schedule but I was used to it. Traveling was fun but it had potential to fuck you up if you weren't used to it, or taking good care of yourself.

"So I'll see you in a couple of weeks?" Sookie asked when we were standing outside the airport.

"I'll call you the second I land in Miami," I promised her and she nodded.

"You better," she pulled me into a hug. She'd promised me she wouldn't cry and so far, she'd stuck to her word.

"Hey, there's something I want to tell you," I leaned back and tilted her face up toward mine.

"Okay," she looked up at me.

"I'm in love with you," I said simply and her no crying promise was instantly broken.

"You jerk!" she nudged me. That wasn't at all the reaction I was expecting. "I promised you I wouldn't cry and look what you made me do!"

I laughed and then kissed her. "You can punish me later," I whispered in her ear.

"Deal," she kissed my neck. "Okay, you have to let me go inside now or I'm never going to leave."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I kissed her forehead, nose, eyelids, cheeks and then her lips.

"I wish I could stay," she sighed when my forehead pressed to hers. "I love you too, you know."

"I know," I kissed her again. I never wanted to stop kissing her but I had to. "Okay, get out of here."

She smiled at me and picked up her carry on bag. She blew me a kiss and then went into the airport. I'd see her soon, but not soon enough.

* * *

><p><em>Three Weeks Later…<em>

I parked my rental car around the corner from Sookie's apartment. As far as she knew I was landing in Miami right about then. We had agreed to meet in Dallas before I went on to California but as far as Sookie knew, I was flying into Miami. I had decided I couldn't wait that long to see her and at the last minute I changed my flight so I'd land in Dallas. Three hours after that I was parked outside her apartment building.

I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed her number. She picked up on the third ring, even though it was after midnight on a Tuesday. "You're home?" she asked with a yawn.

I felt bad for waking her up but I wouldn't in a minute. "Yeah, everything's good. I'm sorry I woke you up. You should go back to sleep," I smiled as I walked around to the front of her apartment building.

"No, it's fine. I'd be more pissed if-" she paused when her doorbell rang. That was me, of course, but she didn't know that. "Hang on a second, someone's at the door. One of my neighbors is probably locked out."

"Take your time," I told her and jogged up the stairs to her apartment.

I heard her slide the security chain back out of the way and then the deadbolt flip over. The door opened and Sookie peeked out just in time to see me round the corner. She did a double take; almost like she wasn't sure she trusted her sleepy eyes.

"Eric?" she asked nervously.

"No, I'm his evil twin," I smirked as I walked toward her. I was expecting her to run out into the hall and attack me but that didn't happen. When I got to her door I understood why. She was only wearing a pair of panties. "Do you usually answer the door in your underwear?"

"I don't usually answer the door after midnight," she stayed right there where she was, blocking my entrance to the apartment.

"Are you going to let me in?" I arched an eyebrow at her. "I've been traveling for almost a full day."

"I'm not sure there's any room at the inn. If you were my boyfriend, you could share a bed with me," she teased.

"There's no way I could persuade you?" I leaned down so my mouth was right near hers.

"Mmm… I don't think so. I'm a pretty loyal girlfriend," she stared at my lips.

"What if I could tell you something only a boyfriend would know?" I suggested and she smiled faintly.

"That could work."

I considered what to say before landing on the right thing. "You once sent me a text telling me you wanted to be pillaged properly," I pushed her apartment door open and she stepped back. "Tonight is the night."

Her mouth hung open and I dropped my bags on the kitchen floor. I kicked the door closed and chased after her when she made a run for it. I trapped her against the wall and kept her facing away from me. I gathered her hands and pinned them over her head, holding them there with just one of my own hands. Her breath caught and she tried to push away from the wall.

"You're mine now, lover," I said in her ear after moving her hair out of the way. I slipped my hand down the back of her panties and said, "I've been thinking about fucking this tight pussy of yours for the last three weeks. All the different ways I can have you… maybe I'll fuck you right here up against this wall. Or maybe I'll bend you over the bathroom sink. I could throw you down on the kitchen table or maybe…" I nipped at her shoulder while my fingers stroked against her clit. "Maybe I'll tie you to your bed and fuck you with my tongue until you can't take anymore."

"Oh God," she whimpered.

"Indeed," I yanked her panties down just to her knees and spread her legs a little wider. "I missed you, lover," I sucked on her ear and she moaned.

"I…I missed you…too," she staggered, her hips moving to find more friction.

"Did you think about me when you touched yourself?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Every night," she sucked in a breath when my fingers traced her lower lips.

"What did you think about?" I wanted to hear her say it not just because I was curious, but because it was sexy as hell to hear her talk that way.

"Your tongue on my clit… feels so fucking good," she whined when I teased her entrance but didn't push my fingers inside.

"What else?" I kissed a line across her shoulders from one side to the other.

"Your cock. I dreamed about sucking it and then you fucking me hard, making me cum over and over again," she panted. "Please, Eric…"

I slid one finger inside her and her knees went a little weak. "What else did you think about?"

"How much I love you," she admitted and I grinned against the warm skin on her back.

I rubbed my hips against her and she whimpered again. "Do you feel what you do to me, Sookie?"

"Mmm… I want you inside me, Eric," she moaned.

"In time," I moved to her neck and sucked the soft skin there.

I kept her up against the wall, talking dirty to her while thrusting my fingers slowly in and out of her pussy. She was so fucking wet by the time she came that she was dripping down her thighs. I put my fingers in my mouth to suck them clean before releasing her hands. Her arms fell to her sides while she regained her composure.

"My arms are tingly," she giggled quietly and I reached to rub the feeling back into them.

Sookie turned around and stood on her toes to kiss me. She wiggled her way out of her panties and left them there on the hallway floor. I broke the kiss and threw her over my shoulder. She'd definitely earned her pillaging.

I dropped her on her bed and kicked off my shoes while pulling off my shirt. Sookie got to work opening my jeans and pushed them down enough for me to kick them off. Before I could tackle her like I wanted to, she had her hand wrapped around my cock and stroked a few times before taking it in her mouth. My eyes rolled back into my head and my hands went to her hair, guiding her head until I had to stop her.

"On your back, lover," I stared at her and she smiled up at me.

Sookie lay on her back, smartly keeping her legs dangling over the side of the mattress in front of me. I grabbed her knees and pulled her legs up so her ankles were resting against my chest. One good tug had her at the edge of the bed and with her hips lifted a little off the end of the mattress, I pushed inside her.

"Yes!" she grabbed onto my forearms, her nails digging into my skin.

Making love had its place and we'd done that too, but I'd learned Sookie preferred a good, hard fuck to the slower, sweeter emotional stuff. I liked that we had the ability to go either way but could also understand that sometimes we just needed to get off. We could take our time and really draw things out or we could attack each other hard and fast and either way it was amazing.

I began pounding into her and I knew it wasn't going to last for long. Sookie let go of one of my arms and reached down to rub her clit. I watched the bounce of breasts as I drove into her over and over, her bed creaking and groaning under the thrusts. Sookie came first and I held on long enough to pull out and cum on her stomach. I wanted a reason to haul her into the shower and fuck her against the wall in there. Now I had one.

"God, I fucking love you, Sookie," I let go of her legs and leaned over to kiss her.

"I missed you so much," she stared up into my eyes and I wondered how I'd ever gotten by without her.

"Shower," I whispered against her lips and she nodded.

"Looks like I'll be taking a sick day," she giggled when I scooped her up off her bed.

"Good idea. I'm nowhere near finished with you yet," I kissed her forehead.

* * *

><p><em>Four Months Later…<em>

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Eric! Happy birthday to you!" Sookie set down an enormous cake in front of me.

The small crowd that had gathered to celebrate my thirty-second birthday applauded and waited for me to make a wish and blow out my candles. Sookie, being the impish little smart ass she is sometimes, made sure to use all thirty-two candles. Oh, and there was a sparkler in the middle of the cake.

"Make a wish, man!" Jason broke the silence and I smiled up at Sookie, who was smiling down at me.

She rubbed my shoulder and there was only one thing I could think of that I want. We've been seeing each other for almost eight months. It hasn't been easy for either of us but it's worth it. We saw each other every chance we got and because our relationship is primarily based on communication, I've come to realize that she really is my best friend. I can talk to her about anything and I know she feels the same way about me.

We argue, of course, because that's the nature of relationships. She gets stressed out with all the traveling I do and I get frustrated when she can't just drop everything to come and be with me, even though I know she would if it were realistic. We talked about living together for a brief time but she loved her job and wasn't quite ready to leave it. The decision was reached that when we got to the point where we were ready to get married, _then_ she would quit her job and move to wherever I was.

The fact that she was willing to sacrifice things like that for me made me love her even more. In the meantime I had agreed to the compromise that during my hiatus from filming my show, I would go to Bon Temps to be with her. I liked being back home. With Jason and Jessica's wedding approaching I was going to have to be there anyway. They'd settled on a New Year's Eve wedding date which actually worked out for the best since we'd be together that night anyway. We might as well drink on their dime while we were at it.

With my wish in mind, I sent it out into the universe before blowing out the candles. I was careful not to get hit in the face with one of the sparks flying from the sparkler and another round of applause exploded after the candles were all out. Not ten seconds later, the smoke alarm went off and Jessica jumped up to go fan the damn thing while Jason opened windows.

"Woops," Sookie grinned down at me while handing over a knife for me to cut the cake.

"Did you bake this?" I asked her and she snorted.

"You've seen me in a kitchen before. What makes you think I have those kinds of skills?" she rose and eyebrow.

"You're not that bad," I pulled her close and kissed her arm since it was the only thing I could reach.

"I ain't Martha Stewart either," she lightly scratched the back of my neck.

"No, you're definitely more…" I tried to search for the right celebrity name and I could barely contain my laugh when I found it. "Jenna Jameson."

Sookie gasped, lightly slapped me upside the head and moved away from me. "I can't even believe you just said that!"

I burst out laughing and said, "If it's any consolation, I love that you are."

"Shut your lips!" she continued to stare at me in shock.

"Are you really that offended?" I sobered a little.

Her shocked look turned into a creepy ass grin and she said, "No, I'm not. If I'm Jenna Jameson, then that makes _you_ Ron Jeremy."

Fuck that noise.

I glared at her and she called me a troll before coming over to kiss me. "Don't pout too much. I have a surprise for you after everyone else leaves," she bit my earlobe.

Not fair.

The party didn't last much longer beyond cake since it was a Thursday night and everyone else had to work the next day. Sookie had taken a long weekend for us to spend together before I had to get back to Miami to start filming again. After everyone else was gone I helped her clean up the apartment. When that was done she asked me to sit on the couch and wait for her so she could get my surprise together.

I agreed and took a seat on the couch. I had no idea what she had up her sleeve but knowing Sookie I would enjoy the hell out of it. She had greeted me at her door the night before in her Catholic school girl outfit, complete with pigtails, a lollipop and a pair of knee socks. We didn't get much sleep, so I was exhausted. I didn't intend to nod off on the couch but that was exactly what happened. Between the beer and being tired, I was fading fast.

But then I heard her walking toward the living room and I perked up as much as I could. She was carrying a small box that was expertly wrapped with a navy blue bow on top of it and handed it to me. She sat on the coffee table instead of beside me on the couch. Interesting choice of places to sit. My lap would have been better.

"What's this? I thought I got my present last night," I grinned at her.

"Oh you did," she nodded. "This is just a bonus."

I quirked and eyebrow and tore the bow off the box. I stuck the bow on her chest, planning on pulling it off with my teeth when I was done opening my bonus gift. I tore the paper off and dropped it on the floor. Sookie leaned over to get it, giving me a great shot of cleavage when she did so. The box was light but I doubted my bonus gift was a shot of her cleavage.

I shook the box a couple of times before pulling the lid off. I had no idea what was inside but it was wrapped in tissue paper. I pulled the little bundle out of the box and unwrapped it. A little plastic stick was left in my hands with the letters E.P.T. on the end. Oh shit. My eyes traveled further down the stick and the word _pregnant_ may as well have been lit up in neon lights.

My eyes snapped up to Sookie's and she was biting on her thumb nervously. "Surprise?" her voice was weak.

Was this for real? Sookie liked a good joke as much as I did but I knew she knew this wasn't something to joke about. A baby was a big deal. It was an even bigger deal since we hadn't talked about it yet. I stared down at the stick, waiting for something to happen or a reaction to come to me but I was numb.

"Are you sure?" I finally asked her and she nodded.

"I took that last week. I went to the doctor on Tuesday. I didn't want to tell you on the phone," she said as her eyes filled with tears. "I know we didn't plan it… I've been freaking out for the last two weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I set the test aside and reached for her hands. They were shaking.

"I was scared. I didn't know what you would think and I was afraid you'd be mad at me," she admitted.

"Mad at you?" I pulled her closer to me. "Sookie, sweetheart, this is… it's unexpected. Obviously neither of us planned it. I'm not sure what I think yet, but I'm not mad at you. This isn't a tragedy."

She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled me into a hug. "I'm so scared, Eric."

"Why?" I scooted her into my lap and wrapped my arms around her.

"Because we're just getting started. We don't live together. We don't even have much of a plan. I didn't want you to think this was a trap or that I was lying about birth control-" she said and I cut her off.

"Sookie, I know you better than that," I wiped away a tear that fell down her cheek. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure this out," I kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

She dissolved into sobs then and I couldn't tell if it was because she was relieved or because she'd been holding back for the last week, waiting for me to be on the same page as her. For once I couldn't fault her for crying. I was on the verge of it myself. When she said she had a bonus present for me, she wasn't kidding.

A baby. A little person that was half her and half me. We did that. Wow. When Sookie stopped crying a short time later I asked her for details.

"I took the pregnancy test because I wasn't feeling well. I thought maybe it was a stomach flu or something and I never mentioned it to you because I figured it was no big deal and it would go away. But then I started feeling tired all the time and for about a week straight I'd come home from work and pass out for two hours. I'd get up, eat dinner, talk to you and then go back to sleep. Then my clothes started getting tighter even though I wasn't eating as much because just about anything tried to eat made me want to puke.

"So I took the pregnancy test and it came back positive. I didn't believe it so I took another one and _that_ one came back positive. It just blew my mind because I've been on the shot since I was eighteen. I've never had a problem before this and what a problem to have. I spent the night pacing my apartment, didn't sleep at all and argued in my head over whether or not I should call you. But like I said, I didn't want to tell you this over the phone. I would have been nothing but a blubbering mess and I knew you would want to get on a plane and come here, and you don't really have the kind of job where you can just do something like that so I decided I would call the doctor and find out what was going on.

"The next morning I made an appointment. The soonest they could get me in was Tuesday. I spent the entire weekend trying to figure out how I was going to tell you about this. I tried to imagine what you were going to say and I think I imagined every possible outcome in my mind. You think you know someone but then something like this happens and… well, I figured if I were in your shoes, I would be confused, shocked, stunned, mystified, aggravated, trapped-"

"Whoa, whoa," I cut her off right there. "I want you to hear me when I tell you this because I'm not going to say it again. I _do not_ feel trapped. I love you. I love everything about you. We've been friends for far too long for this not to work. Even if we don't make it as a couple I swear to you that you are not going to have to raise this baby alone. We will work it out, Sookie. This is one of those situations where failure is not an option. You feelin' me?"

She nodded and said, "It's not like I thought you would break up with me and never talk to me again. I was just… _I_ wanted to run away for a day or so myself and pretend it didn't happen."

"It's okay that you felt that way," I reassured her, my fingers lacing with hers. Her hand was so small in mine.

"But then I went to the doctor on Tuesday and they ran a test. It came back positive, of course, and the doctor thinks I'm somewhere around nine weeks. She did the usual exam and then she did an ultrasound," Sookie bit her bottom lip.

"You saw the baby?" I asked and she nodded, her eyes filling with tears again.

"That's when it became real to me. I wanted to wait until you could be there with me but she wanted to try and get a better estimate on my due date since I was on birth control when I got pregnant. Judging by the baby's size the doctor estimates that I'm due in the middle of March," Sookie told me and sucked in a deep breath.

"Just in time for Gran's birthday," I said randomly and Sookie laughed.

"This baby is the gift that keeps on giving," she shook her head and I wiped away her tears. It was good to hear her laugh.

"We don't have to figure all of this out tonight," I told her when she started to look nervous again. "Let's just take some time, think about things and then we'll start making plans."

"You're being freakishly calm about this," Sookie looked annoyed with me but I wasn't the kind of person who freaked out, especially over things I couldn't control. In times of crisis, which I guess this sort of was, I became more focused and pragmatic. Panic did nothing to help the situation.

"What's the point of freaking out? It won't help or change anything. In the end you'll still be pregnant. Not to mention you're stressing out enough for the both of us and that's not good for pregnant women, or so I keep hearing in movies and on TV shows. Me freaking out isn't going to make that better for you," I rubbed her back.

"You're right," she sighed and relaxed a little against me.

"Why don't we go to bed and we can talk about this tomorrow after we've gotten some sleep?" I suggested and she nodded.

"I like that idea," she tilted her head back and kissed my jaw. "You always know what to say to make me feel better."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I carefully got up with her in my arms. I set her down when we got to her bedroom. I would have put her directly in bed but I was sure she didn't really want to sleep in the jeans she was wearing; I knew I didn't. We changed into our pajamas and headed across the hall to brush our teeth. Sookie washed her face as well so I went back across the hall to her bedroom.

When she came out of the bathroom she climbed into bed next to me and immediately found her favorite niche for her head on my shoulder. My arms closed around her and she relaxed. I should say that her body relaxed. Her mind, on the other hand, was still going a million miles a second.

"I'm going to have to move. There isn't enough room for a baby here," Sookie spoke softly.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," I whispered to her.

"You're right, I know. I'm going to sleep," Sookie said but I knew it would be a while before she got that brain of hers to quiet down.

As it turned out, I was awake long after she was. I thought about the way things started between us. It was all an impulse. Something in my mind had clicked. That little voice in my head—my conscience, I guess- had told me it was the right time to make my move. I had no way of knowing how she was going to react. I also knew that Sookie was good at burying things. She'd been in love with me for years but kept it to herself.

Looking back on it there were little hints and clues but I just didn't see it. I was thinking in the context of just being her friend. I always knew that we saw what we wanted to see in people instead of what was really there. Unlike with other relationships, I'd had the chance to see Sookie at her worst. I knew how dark she could get when she was in that mindset and I knew how to bring her out of it. I knew how to make her laugh when she didn't even want to smile and she could do the same thing for me. That's pretty powerful stuff when you think about it.

The more I thought about us being parents the more I liked the idea. We hadn't planned it but we hadn't really planned on being a couple either. I meant what I said about not abandoning her. If our relationship didn't last in terms of being romantically involved I knew I would always be her friend. I would hope that we would have the smarts to call it quits before we got bitter and resentful. And no matter what, the kid would always come first before any petty problems we had.

Sookie rolled a little onto her back and the tank top she was wearing had ridden up on her stomach a little. I pushed it up higher and trailed my fingers over her belly button. I hadn't paid much attention to the fact that her stomach seemed firmer than usual. Being the clueless man I was I'd figured she'd been working out. Now I knew better.

That hard lump in her belly wasn't muscle at all; it was our baby. I turned on my side and pressed my palm to her stomach. She was going to have to ditch the belly button ring soon. I wasn't going to miss it. I leaned over and softly kissed her temple before closing my eyes and finally falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_3 Months Later…_

Galloping horses—that's what the baby's heartbeat sounded like. It was the most amazing sound. I never got tired of hearing it and believe it or not, I could understand why Tom Cruise went batshit and bought an ultrasound machine to keep at home. The picture on the screen was amazing. At an estimated twenty-four weeks, Baby Northman was kicking baby growing ass. Everything was right where it should be.

"Oh! Look at that!" the doc pointed to the screen. "We finally have a clear shot of what's baking in there."

The sex! Sookie and I both wanted to know but at the last appointment our child got a case of stage fright and refused to give up the goods. But now the doc could see clearly whether we were having a boy or a girl. I didn't care as long as everything kept growing like it was supposed to.

"You can tell the sex?" Sookie asked, just to be sure.

"Yes ma'am," Dr. Crane smiled at us. "Do you still want to know?"

Sookie and I exchanged a look with one another and then both of us nodded. Yes, we wanted to know. We'd had enough surprises in the last year. Dr. Crane moved the wand around on Sookie's belly, punched a couple of the keys on the keyboard and then made her announcement.

"Looks to me like we've got a big, healthy baby girl," Dr. Crane smiled at us.

A girl. A daughter. A little Sookie.

Sookie squeezed my hand. I wanted to look at her but my eyes were glued to the screen. That was our daughter in there. Wow.

"Eric, sweetie, are you okay?" Sookie asked me when I didn't even blink for more than a minute.

"You're sure it's a girl?" I asked Dr. Crane.

"If it's a boy, he's missing parts," Dr. Crane smirked at me.

"Oh trust me if that were Eric's son, you'd see the parts," Sookie said and then blushed.

Dr. Crane chuckled and then printed a few more pictures for us to take home. I leaned down to kiss Sookie and reached over to grab a tissue for her. Of course she was crying. Of course I hated it. Some things just don't change.

An hour later we were pulling up to the gate in front of our house. Sookie had moved to Florida the month after she told me she was pregnant. She wanted to give ample notice at her job and start the process of searching for a new one. I wasn't sure how I felt about her working. Since we weren't married and neither of us had broached the subject, I knew she would feel weird about relying on me for income even though I made more than enough money to support the three of us.

We'd done battle over housing when she got to Florida. I'd bought my condo with just myself in mind. It wasn't much bigger than her apartment in Bon Temps, in spite of it having a second bedroom. Hell, Pam's shoe closet in Los Angeles was bigger than the second bedroom Sookie wanted to cram a baby into. I didn't know much about babies but I knew they took up a lot of space and needed a lot of stuff. No way was it all going to fit inside my condo.

Besides, a kid should have a yard to run around in and plenty of room to make a mess. What fun was it to be a kid if you could only do it in a 9x11 room without any fresh air? Yeah there was the beach a couple of blocks away but that wasn't the same. We searched houses and I had insisted we live somewhere with a gate. Sookie thought I was insane but then I reminded her how crazy the paparazzi could get and her territorial mama lion roared at the idea of one of those vultures terrorizing her cub.

It might have been a little manipulative but I wanted to be sure my girls would be safe when I wasn't around. If that meant sinking a lot more money into property than I'd originally planned, it was well worth it. Houses, cars and whatever else were replaceable; Sookie and our daughter weren't. We found a house in Bal Harbour that Sookie fell in love with immediately, even though she had insisted we keep looking because she thought the price was too high.

Really, the house was probably too big for us at that point but it might not always be that way. The place had seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an in-ground pool and an ocean view. The kitchen had recently been remodeled, the floor downstairs was marble (which Sookie wasn't entirely thrilled about since we would be having a baby in the house) and there were a lot of windows. Sookie liked natural light and clean lines.

We had argued over it for a couple of weeks before she finally relented and let me make an offer on the house. I'd added her name to all of my accounts and had changed my life insurance stuff to default to her if something happened to me. We hadn't talked about getting married but it seemed like the smart thing to do, given the financial issue. But was it really a good idea to marry someone because of finances?

"I want tacos," Sookie announced once we were in the house.

Our daughter was addicted to Mexican and Cuban food and demanded it a couple of times a week, or so Sookie claimed. I offered to make them for her but she just narrowed her eyes at me. I never made them right, according to her. It was easier to just let her do it than it was to argue with her. Of course she would complain about sore feet later but that was nothing a foot massage couldn't fix, or maybe a soak in the giant whirlpool tub that was in the master bathroom.

Once Sookie had gotten past the morning sickness phase of pregnancy, things hadn't seemed so bad. I fully admit how typical male it was of me but the fact that her already large breasts got even bigger was nothing but fun for me. Sookie disagreed, of course, and complained about being able to find bras that were the right size. You can imagine how quickly she shot down my idea of her just staying home and topless. It was worth a shot.

"So are we going to tell everyone that we know the sex or are we keeping it to ourselves?" Sookie asked while she started cooking.

"I say we keep it a secret since there's the potential for it to leak to the media. I mean, it's going to get out anyway but still…" I trailed off.

Sookie's first big taste of press coverage came when pictures of us were taken at a premier in California and her baby bump, as it was so cutely called, had been spotted by various photographers. We saw no reason to hide the fact that she was pregnant and about ten minutes later she was thankful I'd insisted on a house with a gate. Sookie handled the attention about as well as she could and I wasn't the least bit surprised when every interview I went on, I was asked about the baby.

Given that Sookie was unknown in the business that just made people even more curious about her. If it weren't for the show I was on shooting in Miami, I would have moved back to Bon Temps and taken a break for the duration of her pregnancy but I couldn't do that. I had a contract that I had no intention of flaking on and Sookie probably would have kicked my ass if I had tried.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Sookie smiled over at me. "I like the idea of keeping it to ourselves."

Privacy and secrets came at a premium for us so it was nice to have this nugget all to ourselves for a couple more months. We started talking about names and the one thing we each agreed on was that we wanted something that wasn't trendy, but not too out of place.

"We should name her after your Gran," I suggested and Sookie stopped what she was doing to look at me.

"You want to name our daughter Adele?" she looked surprised.

"Well maybe not her first name, but her middle name could be Adele," I shrugged.

"You would be okay with that?"

"Sookie, I love Gran. Not as much as you do, but I love her and Adele is a good name. It's unique without being too far out there," I pointed out. "But if you don't want to…"

"No, no, it's not that," she walked over and hugged me. "Thank you."

* * *

><p><em>Four Months Later…<em>

"I don't want to be pregnant anymore!" Sookie whined. She was three days past her due date and she'd been ready to get our daughter out of her for the last three weeks. "We need to have sex."

"I thought you said it was too uncomfortable?"

"Dude! I want her out! If that means walking on hot coals while chewing on broken glass and kicking puppies with three legs, I'm going to do it. Besides, don't tell me you aren't horny. This could be the last time we get to do it for months so please, for the love of God, just fuck me," she begged.

"Well when you put it like that," I smirked at her.

"I hate you right now," Sookie folded her arms over her chest.

"Lover, I'm just joking," I tried to pull her closer to me that was easier said than done.

"I feel like a beached whale," Sookie whined, an epic pout forming on her face. "Everything hurts or is swollen. I haven't seen my feet since Christmas. I swear to God sometimes I think there has to be two of them in there," Sookie poked her big belly.

"No, you're just carrying a giant," I kissed her head.

"Which is exactly why I want her out! If she gets any bigger I'm going to have to have a c-section and I really don't want to have one of those," Sookie pouted.

We'd done the research and vaginal birth was definitely the way to go. It was going to be a painful process no matter which way it went but Sookie didn't like the idea of being cut open if it wasn't necessary and I couldn't blame her. As of Sookie's last appointment she was two centimeters dilated but she wasn't having regular contractions. She was walking as much as she could but her feet and ankles were already swollen and painful enough. We put extra hot sauce on the tacos she'd been scarfing down since the beginning of her second trimester. There were countless home remedies that were supposed to induce labor and we'd tried them all.

The last resort was sex. About a month ago she'd said it was too uncomfortable to do it anymore. She wasn't sleeping well and two weeks before her due date she took her maternity leave. It never ceased to amaze me how many projects she came up with to do during the day. The house was never clean enough and we were so well baby proofed I needed a tutorial on how to lift the toilet seat in the bathroom on the first floor. We were ready to be parents. Well, as ready as we were ever going to be.

"Please Eric," she batted her eyelashes at me, something she had never done before when she wasn't joking around with me. I didn't like the look of desperation on her face but I liked how uncomfortable she was even more.

"How do you… I mean what position is going to work the best?" I asked her and I hated how clinical it all sounded.

"Probably on my hands and knees. No way can I get on top of you and I haven't been able to lie on my back since Valentine's Day," Sookie recalled with frustration.

Come to think of it, Valentine's Day had been our swan song to sex for a while. We'd made it count but that didn't mean I didn't miss being with her that way. The things we could do together were limited by her size and energy level but I was sure we could find a way to make this work. I reached out and pulled her face to mine to kiss her. I missed the pre-pregnancy Sookie, if only because she would have just attacked me if she wanted sex. This Sookie was much more tentative.

I wanted _my_ Sookie back, which was reason enough to get the show on the road.

I was in the process of pulling her shirt off when she froze. Her body went tense and then she looked down. "Either I just peed my pants or my water broke," she said with a smile.

"Showtime," I smiled and knocked my fist against hers when she held hers up.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

I had no idea Sookie was so strong. I don't mean emotionally; I mean physically. Seriously, I was concerned she broke my hand for a minute there. After thirteen hours of regular labor, she'd been pushing for almost an hour and our daughter had yet to come out. I could tell Sookie was exhausted and if there was anything I could do to make it easier for her I gladly would. As it was, I was relegated to hand/leg holding and feeding her ice ships when she asked for them.

"We're almost there, Sookie, just a few more pushes and she'll be out," Dr. Crane sat poised on her stool at the end of the bed.

"We?" Sookie snorted. "No offense, doc, but this is definitely a solo mission."

I raised Sookie's hand and kissed her knuckles. "You're doing great, Sookie."

Her head flopped back against the bed while we waited for the next contraction to start. In just a few more seconds she was going to have to start pushing again and I knew she was running out of steam. She'd tried to sleep after getting her epidural but that was easier said and done with people constantly coming into the room to check her progress and make sure the baby's heart rate was where it belonged.

When the next contraction began Sookie took a deep breath, squeezed my hand and started pushing again. With her eyes squeezed shut, I chanced a look down between her legs. I had been given strict orders not to but I was curious. The baby's head wasn't out but I could see it. She was so close. The weight of what was happening hit me full force and I got so lost in my thoughts that when Sookie opened her eyes, I was still looking down between her legs.

"Eyes up here, Northman!" Sookie managed to get out between deep breaths.

"She's almost… I can see her head," I swallowed the ball of emotion that was forming in my throat, knowing I was going to be a mess when our daughter was finally out.

"Yeah well, until she's out you keep your eyes up here," Sookie gasped for air.

"Keep going, Sookie, we're almost there," Dr. Crane said and moved her hands to help guide the baby's head out.

"Oh sweet Jesus this hurts!" Sookie squeezed my hand; her eyes filling with tears. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts."

"You're doing so great, sweetheart," I leaned down to kiss her head but I don't know what good it did.

"The head is out," Dr. Crane smiled in our direction and Sookie let out a noise I'd never heard before. I wouldn't even know how to describe it. "Just two more big pushes and this is all over, okay Sookie?"

Sookie nodded, looked up at me and took a deep breath.

"You can do this," I nodded back at her. "You're already the best Mom."

Tears spilled from her eyes when she squeezed them shut and resumed pushing. Just like Dr. Crane said, two big pushes—and a lot of screaming later- our daughter came fully into the world. She was a long, lanky and bloody mess. Dr. Crane clamped the umbilical cord, sucked whatever gunk might be trapped in the baby's nose and throat and then put her on Sookie's stomach. A nurse reached over to wipe the baby off and I was handed a pair of scissors and shown where to cut the cord.

"Happy birthday, baby girl," Sookie looked down at our daughter.

She had her mother's big blue eyes, my nose and chubby cheeks. A nurse snuck a hat onto the baby's head and after we were given a minute to coo over her and count fingers and toes, she was taken to be weighed, measured and examined. Sookie insisted I go with the baby while Dr. Crane finished up the rest of the birthing process, and frankly I was fine with not being there while Sookie delivered her placenta. Just the thought of it made my stomach turn.

We had settled on the name Brianna (we'd call her Bri) Adele and even though we weren't married, Sookie had insisted that our daughter have my last name. The marriage thing was inevitable; it just wasn't the right time to take that on as well. With moving in together and having a baby in such short order, we didn't need to throw a wedding into the mix. Sookie and I were both pretty adaptable people but we saw no reason to press our luck.

In the nursery I watched while the nurse cleaned Brianna off a little better. She definitely had blonde hair like Sookie and me. It was fluffy and downy like you'd see on a little chick. The nurse put Brianna in a diaper and a little t-shirt before putting a little pink hat on her head and wrapping her up like a tiny pink burrito.

"Do you want to hold her?" the nurse asked.

"Yes," I said without hesitation and carefully took Brianna from the nurse.

My experience with babies was limited, seeing as how I was an old child, but I'd worked with them on set before. I knew to use two hands, support the head and all that. Brianna snorted; her little eyes popping open every couple of seconds. She'd look around for a few seconds and then close her eyes again like she was unimpressed by what she was seeing.

Brianna was 7lbs, 11oz and 22 inches long. She felt like she weighed nothing in my arms. I stared down at her little face and when I unwrapped her enough to get a better look at her, her little fist wrapped around one of my fingers. I was in love. Completely and totally, willing to do anything for that little girl in love.

A short while later I brought Brianna down to Sookie's recovery room. She would be discharged the following afternoon. Sookie was dozing quietly and rather than waking her, I took a seat in the chair beside her bed. I lay Brianna on my chest and leaned back to close my own eyes. The parenting books all said it was best to sleep while the baby did and I figured I might as well get a little shuteye while I could.

**oOo ~ oOo ~ oOo**

As a surprise to Sookie, I had Jason and Jessica flown out to be there when we got back home. I would have had Gran come as well but she'd had a stroke the previous fall and traveling wasn't as easy for her as it once was. I promised her as soon as Sookie was up to it we would come out to Bon Temps so she could meet her great granddaughter and namesake. In the meantime I promised to email tons of pictures to Jason and he swore under penalty of being skinned alive that he would print them up and bring them over to Gran's place so she could see them.

We were able to get out of the hospital with minimal paparazzi intrusion. Brianna's car seat was covered anyway so if they got any usable pictures, it was of Sookie waddling to the car and an infant seat draped in a soft, pink blanket. It was a bright and sunny day in Miami and I was grateful we weren't in Los Angeles just then. Sookie was an emotional mess, crying at the drop of a hat, and having vultures with cameras circling us would have only made it worse for her.

Our first night as parents was probably pretty typical. We'd spent the night just staring at Brianna, trying to figure out what she had inherited from whom. We doted on her, cooed at her and argued over who was going to change the first diaper when it was time. Sookie wasn't able to start breastfeeding until this morning and even though she said it was more painful than she'd imagined, she was going to give it a shot before rejecting it altogether.

We were sort of trapped in one of those paradox moments where everything had changed and yet it felt like nothing had changed. We were still Eric and Sookie; we were just parents now. Brianna wasn't much of a fusser and I was adamant she had inherited my love of snuggling since she hated it when either of us put her down. She knew my voice and her eyes would open whenever I talked. She would look around the room like she was searching for me.

Jason and Jessica were waiting for us when we got home and Jessica had prepared a traditional southern dinner. The house smelled of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, country gravy and green beans. I knew for a fact both Sookie and I were starving. There were flowers and gifts all over the house. The best of which was a bottle of sparkling grape juice and chocolate covered strawberries sent over by the cast of the show I worked on. I'd texted pictures the night before to the people who needed to see them and by that, I meant people I knew wouldn't leak them to the media.

"She's gorgeous," Jessica gasped when Sookie handed the baby to her.

"Thanks," Sookie leaned over to kiss Brianna's head.

"And she's so tiny! I can't believe how small she is," Jessica rocked the baby gently and I left the girls to chat over baby things while taking things upstairs.

The fewer trips Sookie had to make upstairs the better. Just walking was a bit of a task for her and I couldn't imagine climbing was going to be any easier. To that end, we had plenty of baby stuff set up on the first floor of the house. A swinging bassinette was set up in the living room, along with some contraption called a Pack 'n Play that had a changing station on the top of it. I was actually pretty convenient to have. Sookie refused to paint Brianna's bedroom pink just because she was a girl. She'd gone with a bumblebee theme in the room instead. Partially so it wouldn't give away the gender of the baby before she was born.

When I got back downstairs Jason was holding his niece and staring at her like he'd never seen a baby before. He kept looking over at Jessica, who was gushing from all the cuteness. Not that I could blame her or anything, but I could tell Jason was starting to panic a little. I knew that feeling all too well.

I'd taken the news of Sookie being pregnant well initially, but I'd had my moments where I wondered what the hell we were doing. I wasn't afraid of the responsibility, necessarily, but it was a big one. Being a father was a huge deal. I wasn't worried about knowing when to feed Brianna or change her diaper. I was more concerned about the morality aspect. It was the little things—that weren't really so little- we had to teach her that I worried we'd screw up.

If Sookie ever got those worries she never let it show. After her initial shock wore off and she started to get used to the idea of being a mother, she had no doubts whatsoever that we could handle it. When Brianna started to fuss a little Jason handed her over to me since I was closest.

"I didn't do it," he said immediately.

"She's probably hungry," I smirked at him. It had been almost two hours since she ate last. I held Brianna against my chest, keeping her head close to my heart, and she settled down. It was amazing how the simple sound of a heartbeat could soothe her like it did. I knew that wouldn't last forever so I planned on enjoying it for as long as I could.

"She hungry?" Sookie asked when I walked into the kitchen.

"Getting there. You should eat first, though. I've got her," I leaned down and kissed Sookie softly.

I took Brianna back to the living room and parked myself in the new glider chair we'd picked out a few weeks before. Sookie fit in the chair more easily than I did, but I was used to being too big for most furniture. I sat with my legs stretched out and my daughter resting on my chest. She nuzzled against me, her little hands grasping at my t-shirt while she made herself comfortable.

I rubbed her back and wondered if it was possible for life to get any better than this.

-FIN-

* * *

><p><strong>So there you have it, kiddies. Eric and Sookie are together and parenting an adorable baby girl. I'm concerned I may end up diabetic from all the fluff I've been writing lately. Or worse, I'll go off the angsty deep end and write something that'll just break everyone. Either way, what goes up, must come down at some point. But that's the end of the line for these two. Thanks for reading!<strong>


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